Recovery as a journey

Sometimes it feels like no matter how much effort you put in, your mental illness is working just as hard to keep you from getting healthy. Other times, major changes for the better might happen one after another. But do you ever reach a point where it feels like it’s over and done with?

Recovery is a journey, not a destination. There is no magical endpoint where everything is “all better.” Even if you feel like you’re at a point where your mental illness is under control, you never know when symptoms will reemerge. It is something that has the potential to affect you for the rest of your life. 

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This can be disheartening, but that’s how life is in general. There is no endpoint other than death. You will keep growing and changing throughout your entire life. You never fully become who you are and then stay that person. Why should mental illness be any different? Healthy is an ideal and while we can strive towards it, there is no full realization of it.

Just as you need to take care of your physical health, you need to care for your mental health. Recovery takes maintenance. You have to work at it every day. Whatever coping strategies you found helpful during therapy, keep doing them. This can keep symptoms from coming back. 

It is possible to get better. It’s just not realistic to have it as an absolute end goal. Be patient with yourself as you work towards it. Accept that at times things get worse – they also get better at some point. That’s the beauty of change. It’s a process and along the way, you will get to experience ups and downs that will ultimately make you a stronger and more complete person.